Translation knowledge and translation decisions of translator trainees

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Adres Kırklareli Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümü, Kayalı Kampüsü-Kırklareli/TÜRKİYE e-posta: editor@rumelide.com

Adress

Kırklareli University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature, Kayalı Campus-Kırklareli/TURKEY e-mail: editor@rumelide.com

Ayşe Işık AKDAĞ¹ APA: Akdağ, A. I. (2019). Translation knowledge and translation decisions of translator trainees.

RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (14), 480-493. DOI: 10.29000/rumelide.541087

Abstract

Translation competence has been one of the favourite research areas in the field of translator training.

Several scholars have put forward their models of translation competence - the majority of which consist of several sub-competences. This study aims to assess one of the sub-competences forming the translation competence- the translation knowledge sub-competence and the decision-making ability of senior students enrolled in the Translation Studies Departments. To find answers to the research question “how do translation trainees approach translation tasks?” we replicated the research done by PACTE but for another purpose: to assess the translation knowledge sub- competence and the decision-making ability. Data was collected through a translation knowledge questionnaire developed by PACTE and through a translated text. The results indicate that although the mean of questions reflecting the dynamic view of translation is slightly higher than those reflecting static view, the majority of the students were stuck in the middle of these 2 opposite views and students were not coherent in their approach to translation. Although when asked directly, they tended to favour target-oriented approaches, in practice they applied literal solutions. It was also found that students were apt to solve textual problems but failed when faced with intentionality problems. Finally, research showed that the translation knowledge sub-competence and decision- making ability were not related whereas coherence and decision-making ability were positively correlated which means that the more coherent students are in their approach to translation, the more likely they are to make acceptable translation decisions.

Key words: Translation competence, translation knowledge competence, decision-making, translator training, PACTE.

Çevirmen adaylarının çeviri bilgisi ve çeviri kararları

Öz

Çeviri edinci, çeviri eğitiminde gözde araştırma konularından biri olmuştur. Kimi araştırmacılar birçok alt edinçten oluşan kendi çeviri edinci modellerini öne sürmüştür. Bu araştırma, çeviri edincini oluşturan alt-edinçlerden biri olan çeviri bilgisi alt edincini ve karar verme becerilerini ölçmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu nedenle, “çevirmen adayları çeviri görevlerine nasıl yaklaşır?” olarak belirlenmiş olan araştırma sorusuna yanıt bulmak için PACTE’nin yapmış olduğu araştırmayı farklı bir amaçla, çeviri bilgisi alt edinci ve karar verme becerisini ölçmek için yaptık. Araştırmanın verileri, PACTE tarafından geliştirilen çeviri bilgisi anketi ve çevrilmiş bir metin aracılığıyla toplanmıştır.

Araştırmanın örneklemi Çeviribilim Bölümü'ne kayıtlı son sınıf öğrencilerinden seçilmiştir.

Araştırma sonuçlarına göre devingen çeviri görüşünü yansıtan soru ortalamaları durağan çeviri görüşünü yansıtanlardan biraz daha yüksek olmakla beraber, öğrencilerin çoğunluğu bu 2 karşıt görüş arasında kalmıştır. Ayrıca, öğrencilerin çeviriye yaklaşımlarında tutarlı olmadıkları

1 Dr. Öğr. Gör., İstanbul Üniversitesi, Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu (İstanbul, Türkiye), ayseakdag@yahoo.com, ORCID ID:

0000-0003-4338-9071 [Makale kayıt tarihi: 24.01.2019-kabul tarihi: 08.03.2019; DOI: 10.29000/rumelide.541087]

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bulunmuştur. Doğrudan sorular karşısında öğrenciler erek odaklı yaklaşımlara yönelseler de uygulamada sözcüğü sözcüğüne çözümler uygulamışlardır. Ayrıca öğrencilerin metinsel sorunları çözme eğilimi gösterdikleri, ancak amaca ilişkin sorunlarla karşılaştıklarında başarısız oldukları görülmüştür. Son olarak araştırma, çeviri bilgisi alt edinciyle karar verme becerisinin birbiriyle ilişkili olmadığını ancak; çeviri görüşüne ilişkin tutarlılık ve karar verme becerisinin pozitif yönde ilişkili olduğunu, bir başka deyişle öğrencilerin çeviriye ilişkin yaklaşımları ne kadar tutarlıysa o kadar kabul edilebilir çeviri kararları aldıklarını göstermiştir.

Anahtar kelimeler: Çeviri edinci, çeviri bilgisi edinci, karar verme becerisi, çeviri eğitimi, PACTE.

1. Introduction

In translator training, many subjects are taught to students beginning from the 1^st to the 4^th grade in order to help the translator trainees develop their translation competence. In other words, sub- competences forming translation competence are studied through different courses in the curriculum of any Translation Studies department (cf.Pym, 2003, p.481). Thus, at the end of the training, students are expected to form a functioning text in the target culture that meets the expectations of the target reader.

At this point, this study would like to know how translator trainees approach translation tasks after 4 years of academic training. Since it would be impossible to focus on all the aspects of the topic, the scope of the study is narrowed down to the translation knowledge sub-competence [TK henceforth] and the decision-making ability [DM henceforth] of Translation Studies students. Echoing 2 parts of the experimental work done by PACTE (Beeby et al.2005, 2008), this study concentrates on the translation trainees’ views on translation (an indicator of TK) and on the adequacy of their translation solutions (an indicator of DM) to paint a picture of the current situation in translator training. Other questions supporting the research question are formulated as follows:

- What are the views of translator trainees on translation?

- Are the views of translator trainees on translation coherent?

- What kind of translation problems do they solve successfully?

- Are translation knowledge and decision-making correlated?

The article begins with a literature review on translation competence and then, the translation knowledge sub-competence and decision-making ability are examined. Following this, the research model as well as data collection tools and data analysis are explained along with the findings and conclusion.

2. Translation Competence

Many researchers involved in the field of translation wrote about translation competence [TC henceforth] but the definition of TC was virtually non-existent in their works. Interestingly, after the establishment of Translation Studies departments, despite an accelerated research on translation, no attempt was made to define TC, it was as if TC was a concept upon which everyone agreed. For example, Koller (1992 in Rothe-Neves, 2007: 127), argued that advanced understanding and writing skills are not enough for translation, but did not distinguish TC from language competence. Dancette (1995) assumed that there might be a specific competence for translation based on the fact that bilinguals are not always good translators. However, she neither defined this specific competence, nor distinguished it from linguistic knowledge.

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A definition of TC was not made until 1991. Hönig (1991, 1995), in his model of ideal translation, defined TC as being made up of two essential components: associative competence as well as the competence to develop a macro-strategy and the ability to employ it consistently. Afterwards, we saw Pym (2003) defining it, in his minimalist approach, in a similar way to Hönig: “The ability to generate a series of more than one viable target text (TT1, TT2 … TTn) for a pertinent source text (ST) and “The ability to select only one viable TT from this series quickly and with justified confidence”.

Then come other researchers attempting to define it as a concept with several sub-competences. For Kussmaul (2011, p.246), TC is composed of 4 sub-competences, 2 of which are procedural knowledge competences i.e. translation process and intercultural communication and the other 2 are declarative knowledge competences i.e. declarative culture knowledge and domain knowledge. Neubert’s (2000) model of TC is composed of 5 sub-competences: language competence, textual competence, thematic competence, cultural competence and transfer competence. Schäffner (2000) advocates a 6-sub- competence model adding research competence to Neubert’s competences. Angelelli (2009) brings forward her model based on her experience at the ATA (American Translator Association). From her point of view, language competence, textual competence, pragmatic competence and strategic competence constitute the TC.

TC has also been studied by groups of scholars such as PACTE, TransComp and EMT. PACTE (Process of Acquisition of Translation Competence and Evaluation) was the first to analyze TC empirically in terms of acquisition and evaluation. PACTE’s TC model consists of psycho-physiological components and 5 sub-competences: bilingual sub-competence, extra-linguistic sub-competence, knowledge of translation, instrumental sub-competence and strategic sub-competence. Considering TC as an expert and procedural knowledge, PACTE (Beeby et al.2005, p.610) defines it as “the underlying system of knowledge required to translate”.

The European Master's in Translation (EMT) is an emerging project of cooperation between the European Union and European universities and was established to create a common framework for postgraduate study in translation in Europe. The EMT (2009, p.3) defines competence as “the combination of aptitudes, knowledge, behaviour and knowhow necessary to carry out a given task under given conditions. This combination is recognised and legitimised by a responsible authority (institution, expert).” EMT’s model involves 6 sub-competences some of which are examined in two dimensions:

translation service provision (with interpersonal and production dimensions), language competence, intercultural competence (with socio-linguistic and textual dimensions), information minding competence, thematic competence and technological competence. Yves Gambier on behalf of the EMT expert group states that this model is the basis and other sub-competences may be added to the model (EMT, 2009, p.3).

TransComp is a process-oriented, long-term project of Graz University under the supervision of Susanne Göpferich. Based on the models developed by PACTE, Hönig and Pym; Göpferich (2009, pp.21-27) created her own model consisting of 6 sub-competences: communicative competence in at least two languages, domain competence, tools and research competence, translation routine activation competence, strategic competence supported by several components some of which are translation norms, professional ethos, psycho-physical disposition and working conditions.

TC has also been studied in Turkey. Examining TC in her book “Yazılı Çeviri Edinci”, Yazıcı (2007, pp.139-140) argues that limiting TC to language competence in an educational context wastes the time

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of translation trainees and advocates an approach in the light of translation theories. Taking into consideration the requirements of time and age, she puts forward her TC model of 7 sub-competences, consisting of source and target language/ culture knowledge, theoretical knowledge, knowledge of multilingual technical text formation, research competence, technologic tool knowledge, project design knowledge and marketing knowledge. For Esen-Eruz (2011, pp.219, 225-226) TC is an expert knowledge composing of domain knowledge and translation knowledge. Cultural competence, language competence and textual competence are activated only if a translator possesses expert knowledge and research competence.

TC has also been the subject of postgraduate theses in Turkey. Eser (2013) and Akdağ (2015) studied TC and its evaluation in their doctoral thesis. Eser (2013, p.4) proposed a new translator’s competence model arguing that “already existing TC models was not comprehensive enough to include the job description and the career expectations of a translator in a professional environment”. Akdağ (2015, p.77) on the other hand, instead of adding a new model to the existing model chaos, analyzed the already existing TC models in depth, dividing each sub-competence into abilities and ended up obtaining the competences present in all models. Thus, a TC model is composed of cultural, textual, technological, strategic competences as well as domain, language, translation service provision, translation knowledge competences and a physiological component.

2.1. Translation Knowledge Sub-competence in this study

To determine the translation knowledge of translation trainees, the TK sub-competences of the above- mentioned TC models are investigated. PACTE defines Knowledge About Translation sub-competence as:

“Predominantly declarative knowledge, both implicit and explicit, about what translation is and aspects of the profession. It includes: (1) knowledge about how translation functions: types of translation units, processes required, methods and procedures used (strategies and techniques), and types of problems; (2) knowledge related to professional translation practice: knowledge of the work market (different types of briefs, clients and audiences, etc.)” (PACTE 2003, p.59)

Arguing that PACTE’s TK contains non-homogenous items (items 1 and 2 in the quotation above), Göpferich (2009, p.20) divides it into 2 categories - translation routine activation competence and translator’s self-concept component. The translation routine activation sub-competence is related to the 1^st ability of PACTE’s TK whereas the translator’s self-concept deals with social responsibility and roles.

EMT (2009) refers to know-how in the professional translation market in the interpersonal dimension of “translation service provision competence” and to know-how about translation production in the production dimension. Therefore, it may be possible to state that the production dimension of EMT’s translation service provision competence covers PACTE’s 1^st item while the interpersonal dimension covers the second one.

When researchers’ TK is analyzed, it appears that it embodies 2 different abilities: declarative knowledge i.e. knowing the essentials of translation such as translation process, products, theories etc. and procedural knowledge i.e. knowing how to perform in a real-world market. To overcome any confusion, we propose the use of the term TK to refer to declarative knowledge and name the competence related to professional activities after the EMT as translation service provision. Thus, TK in this study refers to declarative knowledge about translation.

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2.2. Decision-making in this study

For PACTE, decision-making is part of the strategic and instrumental sub-competences. The group defines strategic competence as follows:

“strategic sub-competence plays a crucial role in translation competence since it is used to: plan the translation project; activate, monitor and compensate for shortcomings in other translation sub- competencies; detect translation problems; apply translation strategies; monitor and evaluate both the translation process and the partial results obtained in relation to the intended target text, etc.”(PACTE 2003, p.59)

From the definition it can be understood that decision-making is at the heart of the competence especially when applying micro and macro strategies, identifying translation problems and producing translation solutions.

Decision-making is defined in TransComp and Angelelli’s models under the strategic competence as a chef d’orchestre. TransComp’s strategic competence is analogous with that of PACTE in that it supervises the other sub-competences among which it establishes hierarchy and enables the translator to act between the micro and macro strategies (Göpferich 2009, p.23). Angelelli (2009, p.37), on the other hand, considers strategic competence as the “translator’s ability to exercise conscious control over their linguistic, cultural, field, and instrumental knowledge”.

For the EMT (2009, p.3) “the aptitude for taking reasoned decisions is horizontal; it applies equally to the provision of a translation service and to documentary research”.

For Kelly (2002, p.18) decision-making, also part of the strategic competence, becomes salient in identifying problems, evaluating different solutions to the problems identified within the broad context of the translation assignment and developing the capacity for self-assessment and self-review.

Pursuant to researchers’ definitions, decision-making ability in this study refers to all decisions about organizing the translation task, identifying translation problems, finding adequate translation solutions and evaluating them, going between micro and macro strategies and revising.

3. Methodology

Being one of the descriptive researches, survey studies aim to determine participants' opinions on a subject or their interests, skills, abilities and attitudes. Survey studies are commonly used in educational research since they help to reveal participants’ characteristics. The descriptive approach aims to describe certain characteristics of a phenomenon (in this case, translation approach) and to find answers to ‘what questions’ (Karasar, 2018, p.24,71, 184). Focusing on translator training, the first 3 research questions aim to determine TK and DM of translator trainees. The last research question aims to establish a relation between TK and DM and therefore, the relational model was used.

This study replicates 2 parts of the research done by PACTE (Beeby et al.2005, 2008, 2009, 2011) aiming not to validate a TC model as they did, but to assess the current situation in translator training. PACTE investigated TC with 2 groups: expert translators and foreign language teachers. To evaluate the acquisition of each sub-competence, group members used different methods and triangulated the obtained data. In this research we reused the procedures for TK and DM.

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3.1. Sample and Universe

Since we wanted to focus on particular characteristics of the population of interest, participants were chosen using homogeneous sampling that may be defined as “Choosing settings, groups, and/or individuals based on similar or specific characteristics” (Onwuegbuzie and Collins 2007, p.285). In this context, our homogeneity criteria were: knowing English, being a Translation Studies student in the 4^th grade with little or no professional experience. Hence, 19 senior Translation Studies students volunteered and participated in the research.

3.2. Limitations

To be able to examine students’ responses in detail, the number of participants was small. Therefore, the results may not be generalized. This is one of the limitations of the study. The other one is the language pair. Students were asked to translate from English to Turkish.

3.3. Data collection tool

Data from the research was collected in two different ways: first, through the ‘Knowledge of Translation questionnaire’ developed by PACTE and then through the translated texts of translation trainees (source text and questions may be viewed in Beeby et al.2008, 2011). To determine the nature of the translation approach, the questionnaire was used. To determine decision-making ability, translation solutions of the students were analyzed. Descriptive analyses were performed on student’s answers.

The questionnaire is composed of 27 questions about translation competence, translation units, translation problems, the translation process and target audience. The questionnaire is designed to reveal two opposite views towards translation - dynamic vs static. By dynamic view we should understand communicative, textual and functionalist approaches. By static view we should understand linguistic and literal approaches (Beeby et al. 2008, p.112). Participants are asked to grade to what extent they agree with certain statements about translation on a 4 Likert scale. Statements exist in opposite forms. As an example, “as soon as you find a word or expression you don’t know the meaning of, you should look it up straightaway in a bilingual dictionary.” vs. “if you find a word in a text that you don’t understand, you should try to work out its meaning from the context.”

Along with the questionnaire, a source text written in English was given to students with a translation brief. The text was carefully selected by PACTE to illustrate different translation problems and had been tested in a pilot study implemented in 2004 (see Beeby et al.2005 for further details). The text segments which need translation solutions in the target text are called “rich points”. Rich points are selected on the basis that “they should provide variety in the types of translation problems studied”, “they do not lead to immediate and acceptable solutions” and “they should be homogeneous in all the languages”

(Beeby et al.: 2005, p.614). The text used in this study has 5 rich points covering linguistic, extralinguistic and textual problems along with problems related to the intentionality (Beeby et al: 2009). Rich points are not marked on students’ sheets.

3.4. Data analysis

The data obtained from the administration of the questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

First, the dynamic index of the participants was calculated. The dynamic index shows the participant’s approach to translation tasks. In other words, it reveals the participants’ implicit translation knowledge

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as dynamic or static. The dynamic index was calculated by giving numerical values from -1 to +1 for each Likert item.

Then, the coherence coefficient for each participant was calculated to help understand whether translation trainees are totally or partially consistent in their translation approach. Again, numerical values were given to each participant response to the questions but this time we worked on 3 coherence levels ranging from 0 (incoherent) to 1 (totally coherent).

For rich points the following procedure was applied: The participants’ translation solutions for the rich points were identified. Each translation solution was analyzed in terms of 3 categories - meaning, function and language. Each category was graded from 0 to 1 (0 being unacceptable; 0.5 partially acceptable and 1 acceptable). Based on PACTE’s matrix, an acceptability score was calculated for each rich point. Table 1 summarizes the methodology for translation knowledge and decision-making.

To determine whether there is a relationship between the acceptability of rich points with the dynamic index and coherence coefficient, Spearman's rho test was used.

Table 1. Summary of methodology

Translation Knowledge

Conceptual Definition

The subject’s implicit knowledge about the principles of translation and aspects of the translation profession

Indicators Dynamic Index Coherence Coefficient

Instruments Questionnaire on knowledge about translation

Data Source Participant’s answers to the questionnaire Decision-Making

The most complex variable. It provides data on the subjects’ procedural behaviour.

Related to strategic and instrumental sub-competences Conceptual

Definition

Decisions made during the translation process

Indicators Sequences of actions; acceptability Instruments Translations

Data Source Sequences of actions leading to results that are acceptable, partially acceptable and unacceptable in relation to “Rich Points”.

Adapted from Beeby et al. (2011)

4. Findings

Findings are given following the research questions.

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4.1. What are the views of translator trainees on translation?

Firstly, the questions indicating a dynamic or static view were categorized. Then, the dynamic index for each question and for each participant was calculated. Table 2 shows the dynamic index results for the 10 most salient questions reflecting dynamic and static view for translation activities.

Table 2. Dynamic Index

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

dynamic_index 16 -0.10 0.60 0.2344 0.21071

Valid (listwise) 16

The dynamic index for translation was found roughly in the middle of the -1 to +1 range (0.234).

Furthermore, the minimum score obtained (-0.1) was not close to -1, which shows a getting away from the static view.

To better classify the student’s view, the mean results for questions reflecting static and dynamic attitude were calculated. Table 3 shows these means.

Table 3: Means of Questions Reflecting Dynamic and Static Translation View

dyn_mean 16 0.00 0.50 0.2563 0.17115

static_mean 16 -0.30 0.90 0.2109 0.31344

As Table 3 shows, the students’ dynamic view means are slightly higher than those of the static view means. When the minimum and maximum scores were analyzed, it was observed that students with a dynamic view are grouped between 0.0-0.5 whereas there are outliers for the students with static view (from -0.3 to 0.9).

Results show a getting away from the strong static view of translation, but this does not mean that all of the translator trainees adopt dynamic vision of translation.

4.2. Are the views of translator trainees on translation coherent?

These scores may show some inconsistency among the students’ views. To determine the consistency of answers, the coherence coefficient was calculated. Table 4 shows the results for the coherence coefficient.

Table 4. Coherence Coefficient

Consistency 16 0.00 1.00 0.4375 0.40311

The coherence coefficient was calculated as 0.4375. This score indicates that students have a mixed view about translation. For some question pairs, they tend towards a dynamic view, whereas for others the

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opposite is observed as in the example below. For the 4^th and 10^th question pair, “The aim of every translation is to produce a text as close in form to the original as possible” vs. “A text should be translated in different ways depending on who the target reader is”, the results are shown in the graphs below:

Graph1. Results for the 4^th question

Graph 2. Results for the 10^th question

While all students graded the 10^th question positively, reflecting a dynamic view, the majority did not want to abandon the sanctity of the source text.

4.3. What kind of translation problems do they solve successfully?

Having analyzed the results for the questionnaire, we moved on to the analysis of rich points. Rich points were the ST segments that reflected a translation problem but did not lead to a single acceptable solution. For the chosen text, the rich points were: RP1-the title contained metaphoric allusions that represented an intentionality problem, RP2 - a technical word that represented an extralinguistic problem, RP3 - a textual reference problem, RP4 – apposition, representing textual and intentionality problem, RP 5 - text segment presenting a linguistic and comprehension problem in the ST and reformulation problem in the TT.

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An analysis of rich points would indicate the kind of translation problems that translator trainees (un)/successfully solved. The participants’ translation solutions were attributed numerical values for each rich point. The acceptability of solutions found by each participant are shown below.

Table 5. Acceptability of Rich Points

RP1 12 0.00 1.00 0.3750 0.43301

RP2 18 0.00 1.00 0.3889 0.36604

RP3 19 0.00 1.00 0.5263 0.38993

RP4 19 0.00 1.00 0.5526 0.40465

RP5 19 0.00 1.00 0.2368 0.34835

Table 5 shows that students obtained the best results for RP 4 (0.5526) reflecting intentionality and textuality. It means that students correctly delimitated the apposition and understood what was meant.

RP 4 was followed by RP 3 (0.5263) reflecting textuality. Then came RP 2 (0.3889) for extralinguistic problems, RP 1 (0.3750) for intentionality and RP 5 (0.2368) for linguistic and intentionality solutions.

For RP 2, some students failed to find a Turkish equivalent of the technical term keylogger and preferred to use, among word-for-word strategies, the calque strategy and hence let the reader guess what it is.

Others tried to reformulate it but offered misleading equivalents. For RP 1, 63,15 % of the students did not translate the title. The majority opted for a literal translation while 25% adapted the title for the target reader.

Results indicate that students were apt to solve textual problems but they offered unacceptable solutions for extralinguistic, linguistic and intentionality problems. That is to say, they can cope with cohesion, coherence, text types, genres and other problems that can be solved with textual knowledge (i.e. RP1) but they were not keen enough to understand metaphorical usage in the text. Furthermore, due to a lack of understanding some linguistic features of the text, they failed to reformulate them in the target text.

4.4. Are decision-making and translation knowledge related?

Having determined that students are more apt to solve textuality problems, one may wonder if there is a statistically meaningful relationship between the capacity of finding adequate translation solutions, a view about translation and being consistent in the approach to translation. Therefore, the correlation of variables such as the acceptability of rich points, dynamic index and coherence coefficient was calculated.

Table 6 shows no correlation between dynamic index and rich points (p> 0.05). However, a positive correlation was found between the acceptability of rich points and coherence coefficient (p< 0.05). In other words, translation knowledge and decision-making are not related but the more coherent students are in their view about translation, the more successful they are in finding suitable translation solutions.

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Table 6. Correlations

RP

Dynamic

index Consistency

Spearman's rho RP Correlation Coeff. 1,000 ,135 ,806^**

Sig. (2-tailed) . ,617 ,000

N 19 16 16

Dynamic index Correlation Coeff. ,135 1,000 -,063

Sig. (2-tailed) ,617 . ,816

N 16 16 16

Consistency Correlation Coeff. ,806^** -,063 1,000

Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 ,816 .

N 16 16 16

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

5. Conclusion

In this study aiming to assess TK and DM of translator trainees, we first implemented a questionnaire developed by PACTE to understand the view of translation trainees about translation (indicating the TK sub-competence) and determined the coherence of responses for each participant. Then, we calculated the dynamic index and coherence coefficient. Finally, we asked students to translate a text whose segments contained different translation problems (referred as rich points) and analyzed the translation solutions of each participant (indicating decision-making).

The findings of the research showed that translation trainees neither had a strong static view of translation (dynamic index x= 0,234 >-1) nor did they have a completely dynamic view (x<1) but sat somewhere between these 2 opposite poles, tending towards a dynamic approach. Although the mean of questions reflecting a dynamic view was slightly higher than those reflecting a static view (0.256>0.210), the coherent coefficient (0.437) showed that things were not necessarily clear in students’ minds (coherent coefficient =0.437). In the translation classroom this confusion may be observed as follows: When asked directly, students come up with answers reflecting a dynamic point of view. However, when it comes to translate, they still have a tendency to stick to literal solutions. This could mean that students have some levels of TK sub-competence, (they are aware of the translation essentials, know how to produce texts functioning in the target culture) but they experience problems to put this knowledge into practice.

In fact, this confusion becomes salient in their translation solutions to translation problems: Results for rich points indicate that students were able to solve problems related to textuality (X> 0,5) but when it comes to cultural, encyclopedic and domain knowledge they tended to use word-for-word strategies or suggested misleading equivalents. In the translation classroom, textual linguistics and other text-based approaches are privileged, therefore it is not surprising that students performed well in finding textual

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translation solutions. However, this result shows that more emphasis should be made for the translation of technical texts and texts of different specialties.

When the relationship between dynamic index, coherence coefficient and acceptability of rich points were examined, it was found that the coherence coefficient and acceptability were positively correlated.

This means that if the coherence coefficient rises, the acceptability of translation solutions rises as well.

Apparently, the more coherent the students are in their vision of translation, the more successful they are in decision-making.

When the results concerning the translation view are compared to those of PACTE (Beeby et al 2008), namely for the 4^th question (The aim of every translation is to produce a text as close in form to the original as possible), it is possible to observe that the students’ view (98% agreed or strongly agreed) was very different from professional translators and closer to teachers since the category “I agree” was mainly chosen by teachers whereas translators tended to select the category “I disagree”. However, for its pair which reflects a dynamic view (A text should be translated in different ways depending on who the target reader is), all the students agreed and/or strongly agreed. This result is better than professional translators and much better than teachers.

When the results of students on decision-making are compared to PACTE’s results (Beeby et al. 2009), it is possible to state that for technical terms, textual problems and “textuality and intentionality problems” students performed better than teachers, but worse than professional translators. For problems of intentionality and "linguistic and intentionality" problems students had the lowest mean.

Based on the results, the following suggestions may be made to improve the quality of translator training: To be able to transform their declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge students may be exposed to different translation tasks with different situations of communication. To improve the decision-making acceptable, adequate or unacceptable translation solutions may be thoroughly discussed, more parallel texts may be read, and self-assessment strategies may be developed. To ensure the effective functioning of strategic competence, deficiencies in other sub-competences may be reduced. The participants may be encouraged to develop their language sub-competence, cultural sub- competence and extralinguistic sub-competence.

This research focuses on English-Turkish language pair, but it may be expanded by adding new language pairs and/or new sub-competences. Also results may be generalized by increasing the number of participants.

This study reports the findings of one case. However, it somewhat draws a picture of translator training in Turkey. Thanks to their training, the graduates perform better than those who work in language related jobs, but they should do more to be as successful as professional translators. While translator training has done much to provide students with translation theories and target-oriented approaches, the results indicate that although students are equipped with this knowledge, they have difficulties putting it into practice, which take us to the famous bridge between theory and practice. As Yazıcı (2001, p.9) points out “The establishment of TC is a long process acquired by building a bridge between theory and practice and by applying the theoretical knowledge as a reflex”.

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